Punjabi Bhawan Toronto Launched to Commemorate Canada 150

Canada’s 150 anniversary was celebrated in a grand manner throughout Canada, and at this time an Institution called Punjabi Bhawan Toronto (PBT) to promote Punjabi Art, Language & Culture was unveiled in Brampton on July 1, from 10 am to 12.am.

“As immigrant settlers, we are always concerned about assuring that we’re passing our diaspora to our next generation to come. We aspire to become the missing link between the youth & Punjabi culture, inclusive of every part and parcel of being Punjabi, is why we have formed Punjabi Bhawan Toronto. We thought Canada Day would be the best day to mark our beginnings,” Vipan Marok, Barrister & Solicitor, Founder & President of PBT said on the occasion of the inauguration of the institution.

A library has already been set with 100s of books- primarily, but not limited to Punjabi, inclusive of Urdu, Hindi & English languages too. Mr. Sukhdev Singh Jhand, a retired librarian from Punjab has taken the same role in PBT Library and spent several weeks organizing the new library.

The Inaugural celebration of PBT was heavily attended by people from GTA, dignitaries, elected officials as well as media. MP Ruby Sahota, MP Sonia Sidhu, MP Rameshwar Sangha, MPP Harinder Malhi, Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon, and Trustee Harkirat Singh attended the event and presented appreciation certificates to Team Punjabi Bhawan Toronto.

“We have built a library of books and other educational materials for the community members to utilize during operating hours. Along with that, the plans to build on different techniques, activities, and events are also being formulated to accomplish our goals of bridging the gap,” as described by Jasvir Shameel, Spokesperson and Media Director at PBT.

Among the speakers and attendees were award winner author, Waryam Sandhu, Balraj Cheema, Baldev Mutta, Surjit Kaur, Rachhpal Gill, Gurcharan Kochar and other community leaders. Along with that, local business owners and members of the writer fraternity joined in to welcome the much-anticipated home of language in Brampton.

“For the next year or so, we are in the boot phase, we’ll explore different ideas to involve youth into our ventures to see what works. Our younger generation at times feels forced to speak Punjabi, we wish to create pride for them,” Loveen Gill, Operations Director explained.

Punjabi Bhawan Toronto has emerged like a dream-come-true for many in the community. The speakers from different demographics not only congratulated the PBT team but also committed to introducing their families to the newer foundation.